Page 80 of Salem's Fall
“The Veil demands a sacrifice, yes, but it’s not Maddie they want.” His voice is rough, strained as he turns his dark, pained eyes on me.
“What are you talking about…”
“Hell, James! Why couldn’t you have just trusted me?” Damien’s expression tightens and something flickers across his face dangerously close to despair. “They brought your sister here to lure you out. I was keeping you safe,” he says, his voice rough, almost bitter. “You had to come here tonight of your own volition; those are the rules. She was the trap—and you walked right into it!”
The words hit me like a punch. My breath stutters and I stumble back, struggling to stay upright as it all comes together.
“You knew they were after me all along, and you didn’t say anything?” My voice trembles. “How could you?—”
“I wasn’tallowedto tell you! I did everything I could to stop this. I didn’t bring your sister here, and I sure as hell didn’t bring you!” His gaze shifts, his expression hardening into cold, sharp fury as he whirls on his brother. “How did she get out of Blackthorn Manor, Lucien? That place was sealed up tighter than Fort Knox.”
Lucien’s smirk is infuriatingly calm. “I may have laid some bait, something about her poor little sister needing saving. Left a car and some keys.” He shrugs. “A little nudge in the right direction, brother. That’s all it took.” He pauses, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “She’s a bit of a hellion, if you hadn’t noticed. Or is that what you like best about her?”
“You sick bastard!” Damien growls. He lunges for Lucien, but several of the Veil members step in, holding him back. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” Lucien looks unfazed. “But I’ve only done what you couldn’t. I’ve ensured that the ritual will be completed, and the Blackhollow family will maintain its leadership of the Veil.” He turns to me, a twisted smile stretching across his face. “Sorry, it’s nothing personal. You’re just the key to unlocking the prize.”
My stomach churns as I glance between the two brothers. “I still don’t understand. If it’s me you’re after, why is Maddie here?”
Lucien chuckles darkly, clearly savoring every second of this. “It’s not just about killing the Tether. The sacrifice must be voluntary,” he says. “The ritual has always been about choice.”
I stare at him, struggling to make sense of what he’s saying. “But my father’s ritual… both my parents were willing to die, so why didn’t it work? The professor said there wasn’t a Tether but?—”
“Poor Daddy Dearest didn’t understand the rules, did he?” Lucien tilts his head, mock sympathy in his expression. “Neither did that fool Hargrove, from what I hear.” He snorts, stepping closer. “That’s why they both failed. They didn’t know what the knife demands. It’s not just the Tether requirement; both ends of the sacrifice must be voluntary. Giving isn’t enough. The ritual also requires someone totake.”
A cold dread pools in my stomach. His words echo in my mind, and suddenly, I can’t breathe.
“Your mother figured it out first,” he continues. “Smart lady, apparently. Offered herself to save your family. But your father?” He clicks his tongue. “Whether he didn’t understand or just couldn’t bring himself to do it, he refused to take her life. And without that final act, the ritual stalled.”
“But… my mom—she still died.”
“Yes, I’m afraid she did,” Lucien continues. “The ritual should have fallen apart, but the knife… well… it doesn’t like unfinished business. So it took her instead—like it took Hargrove when his ritual failed.”
I step back in horror, wetness forming in the corners of my eyes as Maddie begins crying hysterically, her sobs tearing through the gag. A hollow ache spreads through my body.
My mother… she chose to die for us, but her death was meaningless. An incomplete sacrifice. A senseless, empty tragedy.
I squeeze my eyes shut, fists clenched at my sides. It was all for nothing.
“Enough with the story time,” a masked Veil member grumbles from the far side of the circle. “Let’s get on with this already. I’m going to be late for my wife’s Halloween party.”
Another man sighs impatiently, nodding his hooded head. “Yes, finish the ritual and let’s go, Blackhollow,” he snaps, like my impending doom is just some trivial matter standing in the way of their evening plans.
I want to kill him.
I want tokillthem all.
“Silence!” Damien shouts, moving closer, blocking me from the masked men. He turns to me, his expression pained. He looks almost as broken as I feel. “I was trying to keep you away from all this, to make sure you’d never have to face this choice.”
Lucien laughs, a sharp, mocking sound that echoes throughout the chamber.
“My little brother. Always so noble,” he says before turning to me, a cruel glint in his eyes. “It’s a simple decision you have to make, Miss Woodsen. You willingly give your life for your sister’s—let Damien sacrifice you—and he ascends to lead the Veil. Or you walk away, and the knife takes your sister instead.” He sighs. “The latter is a bit of a waste, if you ask me. Someone still dies; it just means no throne for poor Damien. Either way, the Veil will get a life tonight.”
Maddie shakes her head, tears streaking her face. “James!” she cries, her words muffled through the gag. “No!”
Terror runs through me as I look down at my little sister, bound like a sacrificial lamb at the altar. It feels as if my heart is breaking in two.
I turn back to Damien, trembling. “You’re really going to let this happen? You’re going to let one of us die?”
